Scandal at the famous Swiss bank: Hundreds of accounts linked to Nazis uncovered

Chuck Grassley, ahead of the hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, added that new details have also been uncovered about a scheme that helped Nazis escape to Argentina, and that Credit Suisse’s ties with the Nazi paramilitary organization SS were more extensive than previously known.

Grassley, according to Reuters, stated that these accounts also include previously undisclosed wartime accounts belonging to the German Foreign Ministry, a German arms manufacturing company, and the German Red Cross.

Swiss bank UBS, which acquired Credit Suisse in an emergency takeover in 2023, previously announced that it is cooperating with former U.S. prosecutor Neil Barofsky to clarify the Nazi-linked accounts held by the bank.

According to Grassley, the review showed that Credit Suisse’s banking relationships with the Nazi paramilitary organization SS were more extensive than previously understood, including the existence of an account managed by the economic wing of the SS.

Grassley added that new details have also been discovered about the scheme that assisted Nazis in fleeing to Argentina.

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, UBS stated that both UBS and Credit Suisse had previously issued apologies and reached a global settlement in 1999, resolving claims and closing the controversies at the time, describing the current investigation as a voluntary initiative.

UBS stated that it accepts and deeply regrets that the World War II period was a dark chapter in the history of Swiss banking.

UBS Americas President Robert Karofsky said that after acquiring Credit Suisse, UBS is fully committed to continuing the investigation and has taken extensive steps to enable Barofsky’s work.